Enlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience

When was the last time you felt truly awe-inspired? Awe is a complex emotion, and tapping into its power can do amazing things for you and your relationships. It encourages us to be curious, think outside of the box, and generates feelings of inspiration that can help us believe that almost anything is possible. But how does this relate to your partnership with your dog? In this episode, Kathy tal...

What does your connection with your dog do for your life? Does it help you be a better partner? A better person? Your bond with your dog is powerful. But facilitating this amazing and transformative connection isn't always straightforward. Sometimes we can lose focus on living our happiest lives with our dog and get lost chasing the ideals of a "perfect dog" instead. In this episode, Kathy shares...

Did you know that a feeling of disconnection from our dogs could be what's causing them to be anxious or reactive? Humans and dogs are wired to seek connection. It's part of our quest to find safety and comfort in our lives, and if that connection is disrupted, anxiety and stress start to kick in. We get lost in 'the red zone.' In this episode of the Enlightened By Dogs podcast, Kathy explores the...

What do you do when you feel like your dog just isn't hearing you? All behavior is communication, so how your dog responds to you (or doesn't respond to you) is a type of behavior that could be trying to communicate something. But it can be challenging not to take it personally when you feel like your dog isn't listening to you at all. In this episode, Kathy shares how reframing your thoughts can...

Communication is the single most powerful tool we have for connecting with others but are you aware of how you're communicating? Any time you interact with your dog – or anyone you have a relationship with – you're exchanging messages that can either lead to success or struggles. This might be conscious or unconscious, as both you and your dog speak to each other in ways that go far beyond verbal...

Trust and confidence are crucial ingredients to a loving, happy, and healthy partnership with our dogs. Our dogs trust us with a lot, so we need to be good leaders and worthy of that trust. This means we should try to avoid leaking trust and confidence with our dogs. When our dogs trust us to lead the way, they feel safer, more secure, and confident. If they don't and we put them in stressful scen...

How does your emotional intelligence affect your relationship with your dog? Your dog can teach you so much about how to be in the world, and one of the big things you can learn is how to step more fully into your innate, emotional intelligence. In this episode, Kathy explains why finding emotional balance is key to being a loving leader and how it can help you on the way to achieving your dream p...

In our busy lives, sometimes we need to just pause and reflect. How we are and how we act can have a huge effect on our relationship with our dogs. So, if you want to start working more on your partnership with your dog, it all starts with you. In this episode, Kathy walks through several simple exercises to help you explore who you are and who you want to be as a dog mom. These exercises will hel...

What does it mean to be heard? Both you and your dog are social mammals and so have a deep need to be understood and cared for. Meeting this need can help you live the brilliant partnership with your dog that you dream of. In this episode, Kathy discusses how real listening can help you stay calm and connected to your dog and why it's one of the four core daily practices from the Brilliant Partner...

Living with a reactive dog can be a frustrating experience, and as a first-time dog mom, it can be a confusing one as well. In this episode of Enlightened By Dogs, Kathy revisits a conversation she had with first-time dog mom and BPA member Paulina Grzesinska-Mrozek. Paulina was struggling with her dog Badi, who was very reactive to other dogs and people both in their apartment and on walks. After...

Having one reactive dog can be challenging enough but imagine adding another one into the mix! In this Enlightened By Dogs episode, Kathy revisits a conversation she had with Ros Swallow, proud dog mom to two beautiful (yet highly reactive) Hungarian Vizslas. Ros had tried everything and had adapted her lifestyle to try and keep her dogs calm. Yet, she felt overwhelmed with anxiety whenever she to...

Do you have a clear vision and dream for the life you want with your dog? Staying committed to the partnership of your dreams begins with some clarity on what your dreams actually look like. This marks the final part of Kathy's five-part blog and podcast series, "The Summer Series on The Power of Partnership." In this series, Kathy has been sharing some simple partnership principles that will help...

Part of living in a true partnership is to work towards some kind of common purpose. Yet, it's something that a lot of us don't think about when it comes to our dogs. Welcome back to part four of Kathy's five-part series, 'The Summer Series on The Power of Partnership.' Over the course of this series, Kathy has been sharing some simple and highly effective partnership principles to help you forge...

Transitioning into a new way of being with your dog isn't always like going from A to B. Sometimes there are a few bumps in the road along the way. But what do you do when you make a mistake? It's normal to get knocked off-course when you're moving towards something new. However, how you deal with those moments will determine how difficult it will be to get to where you want to go. This is the thi...

What's the key to any successful partnership or relationship? That's right. It's all about communication! Communication is what ties your partnership with your dog together, so you're both happy and healthy. This is part two of Kathy's ongoing podcast series, "The Summer Series on The Power of Partnership." In this series, Kathy shares some simple partnership principles that you can easily incorpo...

How much clarity do you have about you and your dog's partnership right now? It's easier to work out where you're going once you know where you are. That's why getting clear on which areas of your partnership could do with some work is a vital first step on your journey to a happier life together. In this first episode of a five-part summer series, Kathy introduces us to Mary, a dog mom facing som...

Are you struggling to form a solid heart-to-heart connection with your dog? It could be a simple case of trying too hard or overthinking it. If we're distracted, focused on other things, or too busy, this can affect the close partnership we all dream of having with our dogs.  Sometimes it pays to really step back and take some time to reflect on your perspective and how you role model for your dog...

Sometimes we just get so caught up in the drama, urgencies, to-do lists, and life's responsibilities that we forget what's truly important. We can even get lost in an idea of how our dogs are supposed to be. We fixate on how they're meant to look and behave without even realizing that it's all down to choice. In this episode of Enlightened By Dogs, Kathy takes you through a simple way to change yo...

Are things a little crazy around your home right now? During the summer months, many of us start remodeling, landscaping, gardening, or doing construction work on our homes. This can cause many dogs to become reactive to the new activities and environment around them. Lots of new noises, people, smells, and a disruption to their routine can make even the calmest dogs antsy. Many may bark more than...

If your dog struggles with over-arousal, you'll be no stranger to emotional outbursts. Overwhelming experiences like these can trigger anxieties that make it difficult for you and your dog to move forward. But life with a reactive dog doesn't have to be this way. When Andrea Baumann got her standard poodle, Tobias, she dreamed he would become her service dog. Andrea was aware of Tobias' over-arous...

Establishing a partnership with your dog when they have behavior issues can be a real challenge. But what about building a partnership with 13 dogs all with their own unique needs? Rescuing or fostering a dog can be such a rewarding experience that it's no wonder people get hooked! Over the last 7 years, BPA member Alicia Martin has fostered over 60 dogs – but not all went on to other homes. Alici...

Does your dog often get over-excited or easily stressed? Does that feeling pass onto you, and before you know it, you're both stuck feeling frustrated or angry? Our dogs look to us for so much guidance and reassurance. When we get over-excited, so do our dogs. When we become fearful, our dogs can pick up on that too. So, what can you do to keep your dog calm in stressful situations? It all starts...

We all have dreams, goals, and aspirations, but what is the key to achieving them? One of the most common pieces of advice is that you need to change your mindset to achieve your dreams. After all, your mindset is key to everything in your life. It affects your health and wellness, financial status, career, and the relationships you have in your life – including the partnership you have with your...

Are you feeling disconnected from your dog? Are you struggling to remain present and live in the moment with them? Living a partnership lifestyle means intentionally creating a heart-to-heart connection with your dog. It means learning to be present and having an awareness of yourself and your thoughts and feelings. By learning more about yourself, you can learn how to become a brilliant partner f...

When your personality doesn't align with your dog's in the ways you might expect, how do you communicate and connect? BPA member, Beth Williams, welcomed her new dog, KZ into her life with open arms and an open heart. But after years of owning earth-type dogs (and being an earth-type herself), adapting to a dog with a fire-type personality was quite a change! KZ's excitable nature presented many n...